Looking For a Good Book

Throwback Thursday: Reviewing a Reissue

I wasn’t aware that this was a reissue when I requested it, not that it matters — it looked interesting.  And it IS interesting and exciting.

The book has had other titles: Jimmy Coates: Assassin?; Killer; Jimmy Coates: Killer; and now, simply Assassin.  All are listed as “Jimmy Coates #1.” But no matter what the title, this is one action-packed thriller that you won’t want to put down!

Jimmy Coates is an eleven year old boy who discovers that he has some unusual abilities when he is most in need of them.  Speed, agility, strength.  These are not things that show all the time, but when some men are chasing him, his abilities come to him naturally.  At home, his parents appear at first surprised, but surprised that these abilities are appearing now, not that he has them.  When men come to take Jimmy away, his parents tell him to run, which he does, but only far enough to watch his family be taken away.  When he goes to the local police department to report the kidnapping, the same men come from the police offices and try to capture Jimmy.

Now on his own, Jimmy has to learn just what his powers are, why he has them and what it all means.  Jimmy, it seems, is not so much a by, but an android, a cyborg — part boy, part machine — programmed to be an assassin for a secret branch of the (UK) government.  The human part of Jimmy doesn’t want to kill.  He only wants his family back.  But now Jimmy has to fight with his own programming.

This book is action-packed and well paced.  Author Joe Craig knows how to keep young readers engaged, keeping the action moving at lightning speeds, but slowly down occasionally to give the reader a break and to deliver some much-needed information before picking up the pace again.

Not knowing that this was a reissue, I wondered if there would be other books in the series.  Well…there are.  Currently there are seven books in the series and I’m very interested in reading more of these books.  In this, book one, we get to discover who Jimmy Coates is … right alongside Jimmy himself, as he learns some fascinating things about himself.  This adventure promises to be an exciting journey.

Looking for a good book?  Book #1 in the Jimmy Coates series, Assassin, by Joe Craig, is a fast-paced action adventure for young readers and will not disappoint.

I received this book, in electronic form, from the publisher, through Netgalley, for an honest review.

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Assassin

author: Joe Craig

series: Jimmy Coates #1

publisher: Open Road Media Teen and Tween

ISBN: 1497641691

ebook, 222 pages